Jose Mourinho expected to be offered Portugal job after 2026 World Cup

Mourinho returned to Benfica for a second spell in September after agreeing a two-year deal with the Liga Portugal giants. However, ESPN claims that the FPF will likely try to lure the 63-year-old into the top international post after Martinez departs.

The report also points out that should Mourinho leave Benfica, recently sacked Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim is the most obvious replacement, given he spent nine years at the club in his playing days and is still a revered coach in his homeland after a trophy-laden stint at Sporting CP.

Mourinho expressed his desire to move into international management in January last year, when he was still in charge at Fenerbahce in Turkey. "I want to play a European Championship or a World Cup and unite a country around a team, as I have already done many times with the clubs," he said in an interview with Corriere Dello Sport. "I want to do it for football and what this sport represents. It will be incredible."

In August, when addressing links to Brazil, he clarified that he has his eye on the Portugal job first, telling Sporty Net: "My destiny, in terms of internationals, is to play in a World Cup with the Portuguese national team. I never considered coaching the Brazilian national team. My first experience has to be with Portugal, and then people have to understand that I'm a professional and that I can coach other teams, but always teams with which I have something that connects me. Brazil, obviously, because of the historical relationship between our countries, England because it's my home, Italy, I worked there for several years, but my first experience with the national team has to be mine."

Benfica have had a mixed run since welcoming Mourinho back, exiting both domestic cups and slipping seven points behind Liga Portugal leaders FC Porto, which led to a tense training ground confrontation with supporters. However, Mourinho did mastermind a Champions League miracle, as Benfica secured a place in the knockout stage playoffs after beating his former club Real Madrid 4-2 in the final round of league phase fixtures, with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring a dramatic goal to take them through in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Mourinho has also been linked with a homecoming at Real Madrid, where Alvaro Arbeloa is currently leading the first team. It has been claimed that it is club president Florentino Perez's "ultimate goal" to reunite with the Portuguese tactician. However, Mourinho came out to rubbish that possibility in an interview with Sport TV last month: "Don't count on me for soap operas. There are good soap operas, but they're very long; you miss one or two episodes and then you lose track. Don't count on me, because I don't watch soap operas."

There will be another meeting between Real and Mourinho soon, though, because Benfica were drawn against the Spanish giants in the Champions League playoffs. The first leg of that tie will take place in Lisbon on February 17, but first Benfica must contend with a trip to Santa Clara in the Liga Portugal on Friday.